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Came home today with Amazing Spider-Man #24, Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy #5, The Fix #8, and Motor Girl #1, #2, and #3.

Do you remember when you stopped collecting comics?

I do.

The day, February 26, 2017.

The History

It was coming as I had grown increasingly weary of Marvel’s continuing reboots and simply wanted to finish Dan Slott’s current Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy arc–the first current Marvel title I’ve collected since that late 90’s.

Slott, Spider-Man’s incumbent writer, had caught my eye in 2015 with his Superior Spider-Man run. For those unfamiliar with the book, the premise alone was intriguing: What would happened if a dying Doctor Octopus was able to switch bodies with the Amazing Spider-Man Peter Benjamin Parker?

When I first heard the name of Al Jarreau was way back when I was watching the comedy-drama mystery television series called Moonlighting (1985-1989). I clearly remember saying to myself, “Now that’s an entrance theme! Who sang it?”

Back then, getting that kind of information wasn’t as seamless as it is today. There wasn’t any music identification apps like SoundHound or Shazam. We had to be patient and wait for the closing credits of the show.

And there it was.

The answer to my question: Al Jarreau

Although not a product of my generation, I was able to hear more of Al Jarreau’s music from my father and uncle’s many playlists. Musical appreciation ensued which made hits like Boogie Down (Jarreau | 1983), Mornin’ (Jarreau | 1983), We’re In This Love Together (Breakin’ Away | 1981), After All (High Crime | 1984), Moonlighting (TV Soundtrack | 1987) and Spain (This Time | 1980) among my personal favorites.

Fast forward to September 8, 2008 when I was–successfully I might add–able to drag my dad and brother to The Big Dome to watch Al Jarreau and George Benson perform. What I remember most from that evening was the dominating performance of Benson but it was still great to see Al Jarreau give the Araneta Coliseum a taste of his brand of music.

Born Alwin Lopez Jarreau, it was reported that the legendary singer had just retired a couple of days ago (February 9, 2017) due to persisting health concerns. News of his passing followed today. He was 76.

Lego Fun: It’s been 9 years since I put together my last Lego play set. Good times!

Have you guys seen the movie?

Well, don’t worry, I’m not going to give anything substantial away.

But I will say this much, from the amount of mini figures at appeared on the big screen, I could almost imagine the powers that be over at Lego and DC Comics locking arms and literally doing the dance of joy. It was after all an instant merchandise bonanza and commercial success.

In the Lego Batman movie, Lego Batman has loads of Batsuit mini figures that is sure (you can take that to the bank) to be released sometime this year. And the Condiment King! I can’t wait for that one. But I digress, my point here is that under different circumstances, I would be a staunch opposed to variant Batmans. But somehow, this marketing gimmick seems to work in the Lego world.

With all this in mind, I decided to take a dip and purchase some of the Lego Batman Movie sets such as the Mr. Freeze Ice Attack (70901) and the Clayface Splat Attack (70904). It seems that everything is falling under the attack category these days. But seriously speaking, these are two of the cooler (pun intended) sets out there as they come with deluxe Lego figures in Mr. Freeze and Clayface.

Here is a time-lapse video of working on Clayface, Lego Batman, and Mayor McCaskill this afternoon. The whole thing took an estimated 1 hour and 28 minutes to complete.

Bobby Brown said it best, “Oh oh, girl. As long as I’ve been giving my love to you. You should be giving me your love too. But you just keep on actin’ just like a fool. You know it ain’t cool. uh, don’t be cruel.” If you are being Ghosted–always remember that you are worth more.

Over the last couple of months, I have embarked on my latest side project (Set for release by the end of August 2017) that involves a ton of research on a number of choice subjects. One of those areas, is the phenomena of Ghosting.

What is Ghosting?

Ghosting is today’s popular term for disregarding or completely ignoring a person. It is commonly associated with (but not limited to) the dating scene wherein–for whatever reason–one party no longer keeps in contact with the other party.

Maybe you’ve gone on a few dates–with a potential Mr. or Mrs. Right–and things seem to be picking up…then all of the sudden: WHAM! No contact. No reply. Or worst yet, you can clearly see that the messages you have sent were marked read on your smart phone or Facebook Messenger.

I know it’s not cool but there really are a lot of people like that out there.

What are it’s effects?

Depending on the amount of physical, emotional, and psychological investment that the ghosted party has for the person they are attempting to have a relationship with–the results could be devastating as it could affect the ghosted party’s self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-worth.

What can the ghosted party do?

Although it is never easy detaching yourself from someone whom you have invested in, it is best to keep some of these pointers in mind:

You cannot have a relationship for two people.

Marshall your emotional resources elsewhere. Make investments in people who are willing to make an equal commitment to you.

Make time for yourself. If you can’t have a relationship with yourself, how then can you have a relationship with other people?

To learn more about Ghosting, check out this in-depth article by Psychology Today’s Dr. Jennice Vilhauer or you can send your questions over to my Facebook page.

Put together the last of the Lego Movie polybags that I picked up in Megamall last week: The 40-piece Super Secret Police Enforcer set (30282-1).

The polybag features a Helmeted Robo SWAT figure (which I think would go quite nicely with another Robo SWAT figure standing beside it as they flank the The Lego Movie’s Bad Cop–or Good Cop or Scribblr-Face Good Cop depending on what head you have on.) and his flying vehicle.

Clockwise: My only batch of Smoked Bacon and Apples Pizza. Wish the people at the counter had asked me beforehand what pizza I had wanted. | My security bracelet: A funny story in itself as I was the only one they required t0 surrender it once I left their premises. Why not also get those from the other patrons? | The aftermath: My plate versus the plates of my happy crew.

World Pizza Day 2017 is finally upon us.

The day where literally everyone who knew about the Yellow Cab Pizza Co. promotion stuffed their faces with either Smoked Bacon and Apples Pizza or New York’s Finest Pizza. [My sources say that some Yellow Cab branches may have offered a third product: Hawaiian Pizza. But I will need additional testimonies before that little tidbit could be considered gospel].

I would know, well, because I was one of them.

The Process

The mechanics are pretty straightforward: The patron forks over P299 pesos (per person), is given a security bracelet indicating the time your order was punched in, and then your proverbial two-hour eating time “clock” starts ticking. In that period, you are free to consume as many slices of either Smoked Bacon and Apples Pizza or New York’s Finest Pizza. In addition, you will have a bottomless glass of soda to round up your meal.

The Verdict

The perfect deal right? Well, in hindsight, not really as I felt that I wasn’t able to get my money’s worth since I do not drink soda–and haven’t probably for the last 10 years. It would have also been nice if Yellow Cab offered an alternative beverage. Secondly, was the fact that I wasn’t give a choice on what pizza I was initially going to eat as the people across the counter told me that they would take care of it.

“Taking care of it” ended up being two slices of Smoked Bacon and Apples Pizza that were cut in the middle–So I guess, this technically makes it four slices. The pizza was good but I would have appreciated warmer slices.

So, 5 3/4 slices or almost 3 whole slices later, I waved my white flag of surrender and was the first to tap out. A pitiful performance considering that I had once consumed 19 slices of Hawaiian Pizza (not my proudest moment) back when Pizza Hut was offering a similar all-you-can-eat promo.

As luck would have it, we were able to make the scheduled Lego Mini Model Build over at the Lego Certified Store in Alabang Town Center yesterday.

This month’s mystery build was the Narwhal Brickset (40239-1). I served as my son’s assistant on this one and once it was completed, it actually came out pretty cool. The Narwhal features three points of articulation (flippers and tail).

If you ever do get a chance to put this together, take note that it’s “tusk” can detach easily so it may be best to remove it upon transport.

Addendum:

My son made me temporary custodian of the Lego Narwhal so I was able to make it my featured post for today.